Ge-Suk Yeo & Blaise Siwula: Segue

The human voice can be an instrument of beauty, yet how many times has it been abused in the name of art! History documents it and so do several among the current proliferation of singers to whom idolatry in North America adds its own seal of proof. That certainly is not the devilment for singer Ge-Suk Yeo, who was trained in opera. She has a fine sense of control and never loses the moment. There is an ocean of calm flowing across much of her music that brings in a tranquil air, stirred by an occasional tempest which lends a fine balance.

Yeo has the perfect complement in multi-instrumentalist Blaise Siwula. His dynamics add to the temper of the music, but more importantly each knows where the other is going and so work together in seamless weave. This trait is manifested right from the gentle “Wind,” whose stronger element is the voice of Yeo, a warm force that fans the luminosity of the flute. She is in a more emphatic operatic mode on “Echo,” which gives Siwula the opening to blow quick flourishes, bend a few notes and tongue-slap his alto.

The bansuri (which means flute in Hindi) is an instrument that is used primarily in the folk and classical music of India. Siwula has a feel for its texture and evokes an appropriate mood of “Calm”; he is the dominant voice here. Contrast comes in the edgier “Friends”; Yeo has her operatic declarations going, but she also scats while Siwula not only gets into a deeper, harder groove, he adds some melodic incursions as well.

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